BaghdadA political bloc led by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr has won the countrys parliamentary election, the electoral commission said, ahead of internationally favoured Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis bloc.
Sadr himself cannot become prime minister as he did not run in the election, but his blocs victory puts him in a position to have a strong say in negotiations.
His electoral list captured 54 parliamentary seats, according to the results released on Saturday.
The Al-Fatih bloc led by Hadi al-Amiri, who has close ties with Iran, came in second with 47 seats.
The Victory Alliance, headed by incumbent al-Abadi, took third place with 42.
Sadr, who made his name leading two violent uprisings against US occupation troops, was sidelined for years by Iranian-backed rivals.
His blocs performance represented a rebuke to a political elite that some voters blame for widespread corruption and dysfunctional governance.
Sadrs unlikely alliance with communists and secular Iraqis says it fiercely opposes any foreign interference in Iraq – neither Tehrans nor Washingtons.
It has promised to help the poor and build schools and hospitals in Iraq, which was battered in the war to defeat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and has suffered from low oil prices.
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